Robert Reich: Why This is Exactly the Time to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure

Michael Grumwald: Street Smarts

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, two groups that couldn’t agree on the color of concrete, have both endorsed Obama’s push for public works. The cost of borrowing is at a historic low, and a global economy demands new efficiencies at home, like high-speed rail.”

Associated Press: States Struggle For Money, Political Will To Fix America’s Failing Roads

“Two congressionally mandated commissions and a slew of experts and committees have said the nation needs to double, even quadruple, what it spends each year to maintain and repair its aging transportation infrastructure and expand to accommodate population growth.”

George Skelton: Projects Move Too Slowly

“Voters overwhelmingly approved four bond proposals — for transportation, housing, education and flood control projects. They also passed a fifth bond for water facilities that had reached the ballot through the initiative process. That upped the total bond package to an unprecedented $43 billion…Five years later, only roughly half of the authorized bonds have been sold. And of the amount sold, about 30% has not been spent.”

Jim Newton: LA Needs This Jobs Generator

“If you’ve wondered why people complain about the difficulty of doing business in Los Angeles, consider the Southern California International Gateway project. BNSF is prepared to invest $500 million to build the gateway, a rail loading yard that would stimulate trade and produce jobs. And yet, for more than seven years, the project has bumped along without being either approved or rejected.”

Los Angeles Times: A GOP assault on environmental regulations

“Republicans are correct that environmental regulations cost money, and sometimes those costs are passed on to consumers. Yet they are oblivious to the public-health consequences of pollution and the economic costs of inaction.”

Los Angeles Times: A California tuneup

“To reformers, power without rules is inherently corrupt. Their goal is to refine the rules of the game, believing that out of fairness and evenhanded enforcement will come policies that reflect the will of the people.”